Hybrid GNSS and Total Station Positioning for Mobile Work Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current position determination methods for mobile work machines, particularly in construction and surveying, face inaccuracies due to multipath effects, speed issues, and limitations in vertical direction accuracy, and require complex initialization and manual point assignment, making them time-consuming and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A method that integrates GNSS position determination with geodetic device measurements, allowing for automatic measurement of distances and angles without initial absolute position determination, using time-correlated pairs of GNSS and relative positions to derive balanced transformation parameters for linking inner and outer reference systems, enabling precise and automated position determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If GNSS position determination is used for mobile work machines, then positioning can be achieved without optical measurement equipment, but measurement accuracy deteriorates due to multipath effects and vertical direction limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines GNSS position determination with optical measurement using a total station. The system integrates satellite-based positioning with geodetic measurement methods to achieve both high availability and sub-centimeter accuracy. The control device receives position data from both GNSS and total station, fusing the measurements to overcome the limitations of each individual system.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning system uses a composite approach by integrating two different measurement technologies (GNSS and optical total station) into a unified positioning system. This composite system leverages the strengths of both methods: GNSS provides continuous positioning availability while the total station provides high-accuracy optical measurement, creating a robust hybrid positioning solution.
2Measurement precision
If optical measurement with total station is used, then measurement precision improves to sub-centimeter accuracy, but device complexity and initialization requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automated target tracking where the total station automatically tracks the prism on the work machine without requiring manual intervention. The control device automatically processes measurements from both GNSS and total station, and autonomously calculates transformation parameters, eliminating the need for specialized surveyor operations and manual point assignments.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device serves multiple functions by integrating both GNSS reception and total station data processing capabilities. It handles position determination, transformation parameter calculation, and coordinate system coordination, making the system self-sufficient and reducing the need for separate specialized equipment or operators.
3Measurement precision
If manual point assignment and initialization is performed for total station, then measurement accuracy is ensured, but time consumption and error susceptibility increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs target tracking and data processing without requiring manual intervention. The control device autonomously receives measurements from the total station, correlates them with GNSS positions, and calculates transformation parameters, eliminating time-consuming manual operations while maintaining measurement accuracy through automated quality control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated feedback loops where the control device continuously processes measurements from both GNSS and total station, compares the data, and adjusts transformation parameters as needed. This automated feedback mechanism ensures measurement accuracy while eliminating manual initialization steps, as the system self-corrects and validates data in real-time.
4Reliability
If GNSS and total station are integrated, then positioning reliability improves by compensating for system failures, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges GNSS and total station systems into a unified positioning platform where both measurement sources feed into a single control device. This integration allows the system to switch between or combine data from both systems, ensuring continuous positioning availability even when one system fails, while the control device manages the complexity of coordinating multiple measurement sources.
Data Source
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Figure 2a~2c
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AI summary
Chronologically correlated position pairs are generated in a position determination method using a unit, particularly a working machine (4), that changes its own position, having a GNSS receiver (2) and an optically measurable reference point (A) disposed in a spatially stationary manner, particularly an all-around prism (3), and having a geodetic device with a distance- and angle-measuring functionality, particularly a tacheometer (1). To this end, relative positions of the reference point (A) are determined in an interior reference system by optically measuring distance and at least one angle of the geodetic device to the reference point (A) and GNSS positions of the GNSS receiver in an exterior reference system. Equal times, or relative and GNSS positions allocated to a time frame are associated with each other, particularly in pairs, thus forming position pairs. In addition, the position pairs perform a derivation from a balanced relationship between the exterior and interior reference system, particularly from balanced transformation parameters, and determine the position of the unit, of the geodetic device, and/or of the measurable new point from said balanced relationship.